Second town councillor quits

ONE of the longest serving members of Whitby Town Council has stepped down – the second to do so in as many weeks.

Walter Jones, a councillor for the West Cliff ward, resigned on Tuesday due to ill-health. The 79-year-old said that hospitalisation and medical conditions have prevented his attendance at many committees and meetings during the past few months.

Mr Jones has been a member of the town council since 2006 and for the last two years has also been the chairman of the planning committee.

Other committees he has served on include finance, policy and development and Whitby Traffic Partnership.

He has also led the partnership of the Civic Society, Literary and Philosophical Society and the town council to work on a heritage project, researching the historical context of Baxtergate.

Mr Jones led a team which secured £12,000 from English heritage to fund the project and in January the project team organised an exhibition at the Coliseum attracting 500 people.